A conventional home cooking appliance, such as a range or cooktop 100, is illustrated in FIGS. 1-5. A conventional home cooking appliance can include a plurality of gas burners 102 on a rangetop maintop 104 of the appliance 100. Each of the plurality of burners 102 can include, for example, a burner pedestal 106, a burner body 108, a burner head 110, and a burner electrode 112 for igniting the gas supplied to the burner 102. The burner electrode 112 is mounted in the burner 102 above the rangetop maintop 104 (e.g., a spill tray) and must be electrically connected to an igniter box (200 shown for example in FIGS. 4 and 5), which is located below the rangetop maintop 104 (e.g., on a rangetop floor 131).
An example of a conventional burner 102 without the burner head in place is illustrated in FIG. 2. The burner 102 can include a burner pedestal 106, a burner body 108, a burner electrode 112, and a venture tube 122 extending upward from a gas outlet 124 below or within the burner to the top of the burner 102. With reference again to FIG. 2 and also FIG. 3, a conventional burner electrode 112 can include a body 114 having a mounting bracket 116, an igniter 118, and an electrical connector 120 for connecting the burner electrode 112 to the igniter box (200 shown in FIGS. 4 and 5).
As shown in the conventional arrangement illustrated in FIGS. 4 and 5, a spark igniter wire 300 must be provided to connect the igniter box 200 to the electrical connector 120 (shown in FIG. 3) on the lower end of the burner electrode 112 to transfer the ignition spark from the igniter box 200 to the igniter 118 at the top of the burner electrode 112. However, the burner electrode 112 is mounted on the burner 102 and installed from above the rangetop maintop 104, while the igniter box 200 must be located and mounted below the rangetop maintop 104. During the assembly and installation of the burner 102, burner electrode 112, igniter box 200, and the spark igniter wire 300 on the appliance, a first electrical connector 302a of the spark igniter wire 300 must be connected to a corresponding connector 202 on the igniter box 200 and then the spark igniter wire 300 must be routed through a first hole 134 in a burner rail (or channel) 130 that supports one or more burners, through a second hole (not visible in FIG. 4) in a heat shield 132 (if so equipped), through a third hole 136 in the maintop 104 (e.g., a spill tray) of the rangetop, and finally through a fourth hole 138 in the burner pedestal 106. In order to route the spark igniter wire 300, the maintop 104 must be propped up by the assembly personnel to provide access to each of the holes (e.g., 134, 136, 138, etc.) and to enable the assembly personnel to route the spark igniter wire 300 through the holes (e.g., 134, 136, 138, etc.) from below the maintop 104 and out of the burner 102 above the burner 102 such that the burner electrode 112 can be connected to the igniter box 200, which is located below the rangetop maintop 104. Since the spark igniter wire 300 must be routed through the holes (e.g., the first, second, third and/or fourth holes 134, 136, 138, etc.), a considerable amount of additional length of burner igniter wire 300 must be provided to permit assembly personnel to route the igniter wire 300 through each of the holes (e.g., 134, 136, 138, etc.). After the spark igniter wire 300 is routed through the components, the second electrical connector 302b of the spark igniter wire 300 is connected to the corresponding electrical terminal 120 of the burner electrode 112. After the igniter wire 300 is connected to the burner electrode 112, the additional length of wire needed for routing must be pushed back down through the holes (e.g., 134, 136, 138, etc.) and into the range under the rangetop maintop 104 in the space where the igniter box 200 is located such that the assembly of the burner 102 and burner electrode 112 can be mounted on the rangetop maintop 104, as shown in FIG. 5.
As a result, the assembly and installation of the burner 102, burner electrode 112, igniter box 200, and spark igniter wire 300 on the appliance according to the conventional arrangement requires a considerable amount of time and effort to complete, particularly due to the combined effect of having to prop up the maintop 104 and route the spark igniter wire 300 through one or more holes (e.g., the hole 134 in the burner rail (or channel), the hole 136 in the maintop of the rangetop, and the hole 138 in the burner base (e.g., burner pedestal). Additionally, the potential for erosion or damage to the insulation of the spark igniter wire 300 may be greatly increased by the spark igniter wire 300 having to be inserted and routed through each of these holes (e.g., 134, 136, 138), and also remaining in the holes (e.g., 134, 136, 138) where they are subject to potential erosion. The potential for erosion or damage to the insulation of the spark igniter wire 300 is further increased with each occurrence of the rangetop maintop 104 needing to be moved or lifted to perform service on the appliance, which may affect the durability and reliability of the burner igniter assembly of the appliance. Furthermore, in order to permit assembly personnel to route the igniter wire 300 through each of the holes and make the connections prior to assembling the components, the conventional spark igniter wire 300 requires a considerable amount of extra length (e.g., an extra 8 inches of length). As mentioned above, after the burner igniter wire 300 is connected to the burner electrode 112, and when the burner 102 and burner electrode 112 are mounted on the rangetop maintop 104, the additional length of wire 300 needed for the routing must be pushed down into the range under the rangetop maintop 104 in the space where the igniter box 200 is located. As a result, as shown in FIG. 5, the additional length of igniter wire 300 ordinarily will be coiled or looped around in a random and uncontrolled manner in the space below the rangetop maintop 104 when the rangetop maintop 104 is in an assembled state, which may further increase the potential for erosion or damage to the insulation of the spark igniter wire 300 and/or contact with other electronic components or wiring harnesses.